Baofeng UV-5R and TDXOne TD-Q8: Menu Comparison

Just a comparison of the menus of the two radios as part of Nate's analysis.

	UV-5R	TD-Q8
0	SQL	BEEP
1	STEP	SQL-LE (SQL)
2	TXP	SQL-LE
3	SAVE	VOICE
4	VOX	SCN-QT (CTSCSS/DCS SCAN)
5	WN	VOX
6	ABR	AUTOLK
7	TDR	TXP
8	BEEP	BCL
9	TOT	CS-REV
10	R-DCS	WN
11	R-CTSS	C-CTC
12	T-DCS	R-CTC (=RX-CTCSS/DCS)
13	T-CTCSS	T-CTC (=TX-CTCSS/DCS)
14	VOICE	SAVE
15	ANI-ID	TOA
16	DTMFST	TOT
17	S-CODE	WT-LED
18	SC-REV	RX-LED
19	PTT-ID	TX-LED
20	PTT-LT	ROGER
21	MDF-A	SFT-D
22	MDF-B	OFFSET
23	BCL	STEP
24	AUTOLK	CHNAME
25	SFT-D	MEM-CH
26	OFFSET	DEL-CH
27	MEM-CH	CH-MDF
28	DEL-CH	PF1 (Side Key Fn)
29	WT-LED	TDR
30	RX-LED	ANI
31	TX-LED	PTTDLY
32	AL-MOD	PTT-ID
33	BAND	DTMFST
34	TDR-AB	IDEDIT
35	STE	RESET
36	RP-STE	PONMSG
37	RPT-RL	DW
38	PONMSG
39	ROGER
40	RESET

Baofeng UV-5R: Stock Antenna

I had only been listening to my UV-5R sporadically and, for the most part, I just left it on the desk. This afternoon I was showing it to a fellow ham and was holding it in my hand. There was an awful lot of noise/interference that I hadn't noticed earlier. I quickly realized that the problem only occurred while I was holding the radio. If I set it down, the problem went away. I don't get the best signal on any of my HTs inside my office, so I went outside and the problem still existed if I had it in my hand.

I was extremely disappointed by this discovery. What good is a handy talkie if you can't hold it?

I was comparing it to my Wouxun and my buddy suggested trying the antenna from the KG-UVD1P. Voila! Using the Wouxun antenna solved the problem. Even without any fancy equipment and testing, I'm thinking I may look for a replacement for the stock radio based on this problem alone.

Baofeng UV-5R: 409Shop 10pcs Battery

Basically, $13 per radio to the US - if you need 10. 12/29 Correction: Reading is hard. Thanks to the correction in the comments - this is for the battery only. Doh.

FOB Price: US$99 for 10pcs x bafeng UV-5R 3800mah battery.https://t.co/4dDzQIjeS7... https://t.co/aCex5u3IsJ

— 409Shop Limited (@409Shop) December 22, 2016

Baofeng UV-5R Plus for $29.99

Deal is at Radioddity - Baofeng UV-5R Plus for $29.99 (Free Shipping).

Hat tip to the Reddit post.

Baofeng UV-5R: Availability

Looks like several people have received their UV-5R. I am still waiting on mine. And Matt @ AmateurRadio.com discovered that Import Communications will begin selling them next week for $65. Others are reporting that the Chinese dealers like 409Shop are currently out of stock.

Anytone AT3318UV-E: Mini-review

A mini-review from Mike on the Anytone AT3318UV (A,B,C,D &E) Yahoo Group:

"I talked a friend into buying two of these tri-band handhelds because of the advertised FHSS (frequency hopping spread spectrum) feature, which turned out to be more of a random frequency trunking feature and probably a misunderstanding of the FHSS term by the Chinese manufacturer.

The radios were purchased from the exclusive US importer "Import Communications", who notified all buyers about the mistake with the FHSS option and offered a refund if so desired. 

So here I sat with my friends two otherwise good looking and great sounding 2m, 220MHZ and 440MHz plus part 90 certified handhelds as he mulled over keeping or returning the radios. After reading up on the manual, perusing the extensive programming software and living with these handhelds for a week I decided I can't live without it and and purchased one from my buddy who originally bought the pair.

These radios cover 136 to 174, 220 to 225 and 400 to 520MHz transmit and receive plus .52 to 30MHz AM HF (10KHz steps), 64 to 108MHz WBFM, 118 to 136MHz AM and 225 to about 260MHz FM receive only. The radio works surprisingly well in the AM broadcast and HF SW bands with an appropriate antenna and I did not detect any overload problems feeding it with a large G5RV type HF antenna.

The radios have a very extensive but fairly easy to navigate menu system unlike any Baofeng or Wouxun I have used and I love the various banks I can assign to memory channels to scan only specific banks if I want or I can scan the entire memory. There is also a quick talk around feature for your programmed repeater frequencies and all sorts of other nifty features that I don't see on other Chinese brands.

When using the AM/FM broadcast or SW feature, if you receive a call on whatever two way frequency is being monitored the broadcast band will temporarily mute during the call then pop back in about 5 seconds later. You can listen to music or local news and not miss a radio call. 

The receiver performance is also much better than Baofeng and Wouxun radios I've tested. I live in a very RF rich environment and was recently comparing a Baofeng UV-5R, a Wouxun UV8 plus a Yaesu VX-8R and FT-60 at a local hilltop about a half mile from a major repeater site with lots of RFI.

While listening to some simplex activity on 146.52 I noticed both Yaesu radios were hearing lots of things the Baofeng was not. Some of the signals that were almost full quieting on both Yaesu radios just did not exist on the Baofeng UV-5R. I was also playing with the cross band repeat on the new Wouxun KG-UV8D at the same location and noticed it was not repeating things that I could hear clearly on the input frequency on the Yaesu radios. 

I repeated the same tests with the new Anytone AT-3318UV-E and its on par with the Yaesu radios and could hear every weak signal the Yaesu's could in the heavy RF environment. The Anytone also cross band repeated weak signals very well under the same conditions.

I'm not knocking the inexpensive Baofeng radios, for the price they great little radios and they measure very sensitive on a service monitor. But put them in a busy RF environment and their shortcomings will show up. The Wouxun KG-UV8D is also a really nice radio and quite a leap from the first Wouxuns I played with. But the AT-3318UV-E performance is is better and you get 220MHz tx/rx and a lot more features for just a little more money.

Playing with the AT-3318UV-E menus its also apparent that Anytone engineers are familiar with how American commercial and amateur users interface with two way radio equipment. Other Chinese brands have odd and useless features and will not do many things that radio users are demanding. 

The transmit and receive audio is extremely good and better than most handhelds I own including many Motorola, Yaesu, Icom and the like. The receive audio is almost Hi-Fi and people who I know personally come out of the speaker sounding much more like themselves than any other handheld radio I have used in recent times. I also gets great unsolicited transmit audio reports.

The 3318UV-E is also more compact than a Wouxun KG-UV3 type or KG-UV8D, which I had just purchased and sold after playing with the Anytone. So far battery life is very good from the stock 1800mah pack and I can't say enough good things about this very modestly priced handheld, its just a winner all around, despite the misunderstood FHSS feature.

I think the closest competitor to the AT-3318UV-E model is probably the Kenwood TF6a, which runs about $190 more and is not FCC Part 90 compliant, although its HF receive is SSB capable. The TH6a is also a design from 10+ years ago.

So there is my story about a pair of radios purchased for a specific feature and when that feature did not pan out the radios turned out to be so good I couldn't send them back.

Mike"

Baofeng UV-5R: $30.99 Free Shipping

The Amazon Lightning Deal on the Baofeng UV-5R is for $30.99 plus free ship. I was hoping for a crazier half-off type deal.

Baofeng UV-5R: 1800 mAH Battery

marksenk Baofeng UV-5R 1800 mAH battery powers FM radio and flashlight for over 8 hours - Who will test transmit duration? #hamrWed, Jul 25 04:35:24 from SenseTwit

Baofeng UV-5R: TYT Spare Batteries

Hans compares the TYT TH-F8 and Baofeng UV-5R batteries. The batteries appear to be the same except for a slight weight difference and some cosmetic molding. And despite the different rated capacities, he suspects they may be identical internally. He's going to do some more looking, but if that is true then the TYT battery is a much better deal at $4 less than the Baofeng. Looks like the Baofeng brand is beginning to be worth something.

Chinese Radio Mega List by Nate - Part 2 - HTs

Here is the second part of Nate's e-mail with the information about the HTs. (Most of this is from his e-mail, but I've edited it so assume any errors are mine.) Part I was about mobile radios.

Baojie BJ-UV88

BAOJIE have an HT model: BAOJIE BJ-UV88

HYS TC-UV11 / TC-UV99

HYS have an HT as well: HYS TC-UV11 and HYS TC-UV99 (if you need a larger flashlight). And the HYS TC-UV88 that looks a little bit like the Baofeng UV-5R / TYT TH-F8.

More UV-5R clones / brands:

ZasTone ZT-V8 ($85.50 on AliExpress)

Mstar M-UV1 ($56 on AliExpress)

Mstar M-UV2

Mstar also has the M-UV2 (Totally different radio)

Baofeng UV-5R: Type 90 Accepted

Chris (NH7QH Radio Supplies) sent me a note saying that the Baofeng UV-5R is now Type 90 accepted by the FCC. He says he has them on order and will be selling them soon.

Baofeng UV-5R: Pictures

Moleculo has his UV-5R and has posted several pictures on the WorldWideDX forum. Here is a sample to get you going.

Baofeng UV-5R: UV-5RC

And in addition to the UV-5RE, Ed is going to sell the UV-5RC.

Baofeng UV-5R: UV-5RAX 2M + 222

marksenk New Baofeng UV-5RAX covers 144 & 222 MHz ham bands - Available March 10 on Amazon for $49 #hamrTue, Mar 12 11:28:24 from The Visitor Widget

A Radio-Mart exclusive at Amazon: Baofeng UV-5RAX 144/220 Transceiver for $49.99 USD. I'd like for someone to try this out since people tend to have a strong opinion about Radio-Mart.

Baofeng UV-5R: UV-5RAX 2M + 220

W2PDQ has a Baofeng UV-5RAX 144/220 Transceiver and shared the following in the comments on the original post:

"It works, with a few small issues. The radio was marked with a decal in the battery compartment as a 2m/440 radio. A call to Radio-Mart told me to check the antenna markings and power up, sure enough the little rubber attenuator is marked 2m/220 and using a charged battery from my 440 unit the display shows 220. When using the latest VIP programming it will allow me to place the 222 freqs in but chirp will not allow it (the chirp is a one month old nightly) 

Power on with holding the #3 key says BFB-296. Talked last night on the net with no issues. All the accessories such as the extended battery and car adaptor are also fine. Only distinguishing cosmetic is the front labelling with some reflective type as a dual band If you needed an extra battery for your 2/70 uv-5ra then this is only 35 bucks more for another radio with a 220 band. It was shipped rather quickly also. So far so good." 

"Need to get a sma to pl adaptor to check actual power."

Baofeng UV-B5: Miklor Reference

John (K3NXU) started with the UV-5R information. He added the UV-82. And now, you can get information on the UV-B5.

Baofeng UV-3R: Scribd Manual

Someone uploaded the Baofeng UV-3R User's Manual to Scribd, so I thought I would include it here as well as the UV-5R manual.

Baofeng Tech Black Friday Deals

Three deals - one mobile and two HTs. The deals are available all day at their site or during lightning deals on Amazon.

2:55 until 8:55 PM EST:
BaoFeng BF-F8HP (UV-5R 3rd Gen) 8-Watt Dual Band Two-Way Radio (136-174MHz VHF & 400-520MHz UHF) Includes Full Kit with Large Battery - normally $63, now $45.

5:20 until 11:20 PM EST:
BTECH MINI UV-2501+220 (Gen. 3) 25 Watt Tri-band Base, Mobile Radio: 136-174mhz (VHF), 210-230mhz (1.25M), 400-520mhz (UHF) Amateur (Ham) - normally $129, now $99.

6:40 PM EST until 12:40 AM EST:
BaoFeng UV-82HP (RED) High Power Dual Band Radio: 136-174mhz (VHF) 400-520mhz (UHF) Amateur (Ham) Portable Two-Way - normally $63, now $45.

Baofeng Comparison

LA3ZA has compiled a handy chart to compare the Baofeng UV-5R, UV-82, and the UV-B5.

Of course, my favorite is the GT-3*.

*Yes, I'm just saying that to stir up trouble.

Chinese Radios - The Center Part II

A commenter on yesterday's post about which Chinese manufacturer is really making all these radios pointed me to this link at Kightradio. (He is the one offering the TYT TH-UV3 for sale.) There are multiple updates on the page:

03/19/12 "The TYT TH-UV3 Dual Band HT is on the way to me now. I will update everyone as soon as I receive them."

So he could have the TYT TH-UV3 any day now. We do live in interesting times.

02/20/2012 "Baofeng UVD-5R Dual Band 4 watt HT was just released for sale in China. This is a nice little Dual Band rig but as of now, the menuis only in Chinese. This is howthe first UV-3R started out and then they made the english menu later. I would like to note that this radio looks exactly like the TYT F8 Radios. In talking with TYT I found out this is a COPY and not a radio made by TYT and sold to Baofeng. TYT has a patent on the case so we will see what TYT does about this later. So if you buy one of these on the internet, BEWARE, its menu is ONLY IN CHINESE and hard to figure out. I have one to test and I am having the menu translated and I will update you later on this.

Dual Band mobiles are not anywhere close to being released. I would not look for them at Dayton this year. Maybe if we are lucky, a few months after Dayton but this is just my personal guess with info I hear in talking with the MFG's every few days."

We know that are now versions of the UV-5R that do Chinese only, Chinese & English, and English only. And he has been told that Baofeng is ripping off TYT's case. More interesting is his claim that the dual band mobiles (KG-UV920R anyone?) won't be available for a few more months.

No Date "We attended the Hong Kong Electronics Fair and the Canton Export Fair Oct 15,2011

We will be updating the site in a few days with all the New Goodies we found at the show. Lots of exciting things in the works so be sure to check back with us and get updated.

We are in China now so if you have any special radios you would like us to purchase for you, contact us and we will be glad to purchase for you.

Call 405-227-9980 (Our time is opposite the USA time so when its 11 am in the US, its 11 pm in China) Please call late evening your time to reach us.

We can get you the latest versions of Wouxun,TYT, Baofeng and others at Hong Kong Prices."

Pretty cool that he offers to ferry radios back from China. Shipping and wire transfers can make a good deal go bad very quickly.

11/11/2011 "Wouxun is going to raise the price effective now of the KG-UVD1p & UVD3 about $22.00 This is because of dealer requests to add 2.5 steps to those models. Its seems more like a move on Wouxun's part to increase the retail price like they have been wanting to do for sometime. They also increased the min wholesale order to 500 units. This is going to put the Wouxun HT's in a higher price class and TYT and others will have the advantage. Hong Kong will have a much lower price and attract more customers. As far as the Dual Band mobile, I would not look for it anytime soon and when it does come out, I am anxious to see the price. Wouxun is not aware of other companies working on Dual Band Radios because they pay little attention to their competition."

Build your brand and demand higher prices. It is the American way!